Please let us know if your question is not in the list.

I would like to get into sailing! I don't know where to start!

The FVQ’s accredited clubs and schools offer a variety of cruising and dinghy sailing courses taught by Sail Canada certified instructors. Please refer to the list of accredited clubs, sailing schools and camps to find one that is operating in your area. Would you like to offer your children an introduction to sailing? Many of our clubs and sailing schools run day camps in the summer, with courses taught by certified sailing instructors. Our accredited summer camps also offer an introduction to sailing, among other activities, taught by certified sailing Activity Guides.

What is the difference between dinghy sailing and cruising?

See the Start Sailing section.What are the sailing levels?

What are the sailing levels?

Recognized Cruising standards.

Recognized Dinghy sailing standards.

What certification is required to rent a sailboat?

To rent sailboats in Quebec and Canada, the norm is the following:

Dinghy rental: White Sail III certification or CANSail 2 certification.

Keelboat rental: Elementary Cruising Standard, for a single day rental, or Intermediate Cruising Standard, for an overnight rental. For all keelboat rentals, the lessee must possess his or her own Pleasure Craft Operator Card. This course is offered by many of our accredited clubs and schools.

It is important to note that any company can choose to add its own requirements. Many rental conditions will also vary according to the weather, tides, the local body of water, etc.

I lost my certification seal! What should I do?

Here are the various scenarios:

Dinghy sailing certificate: these seals are issued and managed by FVQ affiliated sailing schools. You must therefore contact the school in which you took the course. If they have no proof of your accrediation, you may ask to be evaluated for the level in question by any of the FVQ sailing schools. However, this decision and the cost of evaluation are at the discretion of the school that you are approaching.

Cruising certificate: Voile Québec has been in charge of issuing these seals since 1999.

a. If you took a course before this date, you will have to contact one of our accredited cruising schools to ask if you can be evaluated for the level in question. This decision is at their discretion.

b. If you took the course after 1999, please contact the FVQ to ensure that your name is in our database and we will explain how to proceed.

If you took the course with one of our accredited sailing schools, you must contact Sail Canada. Otherwise, you will need to contact the company that issued your card.

How to I become an Instructor?

How to become a cruising instructor.

How to become a dinghy instructor.

Where do I find Hydrographics charts?

In Montreal:

Aux Quatres Points Cardinaux

551, rue Ontario Est, Montreal, H2L 1N8

Tél: 514-843-8116

Where do I register my boat?

Contact Ship Registration 514-283-3597 in Montreal or 418-648-4508 in Quebec City. For more information contact Transport Canada.

Do I need to be a member of a club to participate into a regatta?

In accordance with ISAF regulations, a sailor must be the member of a club affiliated with a national body in order to participate in an official regatta. In Canada, the official national body is Sail Canada.

How do I purchase books from the FVQ?

A list of available course manuals and other products is available in our online store. We hope that the store will soon be fully functional, but in the meantime you will need to contact us to place an order.

If you would like to come in person, please call the office beforehand. We are a small team: our office hours may therefore vary.

What are your offices hours and how do we get there?

Our offices are open from 8:30AM to 4:30PM, from Monday to Friday. However, our team is small and we are sometimes on the road; please call the office before arriving in person to ensure that someone will be present to help you.

If no one is available, we encourage you to leave a message on our answering machine or send us an email and it will be our pleasure to respond as soon as possible.

Directions

What is the minimum age for driving a sailboat?

According to Sail Canada, there is no age limit for obtaining the Competent Crew and Basic Cruising certifications. 

Transport Canada has, however, set age limits according to the power of the vessel's motor:

-Less than 12 years of age, can operate a boat with up to 10 hp

-Ages 12 to 16, can operate a boat with up to 40 hpUnder 16,  cannot operate any PWC (personal watercraft)

-Over 16 years of age, no restrictions linked to the power of the motor

-Of course, they must have their pleasure craft operator's card. We suggest that you verify the current regulations in this section of the Transport Canada website.

I have completed my instructor clinic, what is the next step?

Even if you have completed your instructor clinic, you do not have completely finished your training. In order to be fully certified as a sailing instructor you must:

Register online and pay your Sail Canada annual fees, Complete the Sail Canada Long-Term Athlete Development(LTAD) Online Module, complete the Make Ethical Decisions Online Evaluation* and register for an Evaluation by an LF on the FVQ website.

*if you have completed the training for Make Ethical Decisions (MED), Managing Conflict or Leading Drug-free Sport, please log-in to The Locker and select the “eLearning” option from the drop-down menu on the right hand side of the screen. You will have unlimited attempts at obtaining a passing grade of 75%.

 

end faq